After World War II, the expeditious spread of Stalin’s totalitarian and “utopian” ideas alarmed European citizens and leaders. Under these urgent circumstances, many well-known dystopian literacy works were written to attempt to quell these ideas. George Orwell, one of these authors, devoted himself to the cause and wrote two representative novels Animal Farm and 1984. These two fictional pieces quickly raised tensions in Europe. In fact, the novel 1984 was widely perceived as one of the best dystopian works. In 1984, George Orwell uses irony and passive tone to create a portrait the protagonist’s, Winston Smith’s, revolt against the dictatorship of Big Brother or big government, which reveals that a single man’s power is vulnerable, and totalitarian tyrants can only control people through violence and censorship.

To brainwash the citizens, Big Brother creates three slogans:

War Is Peace

Freedom Is Slavery

Ignorance Is Strength.

Although they are complete nonsense to readers, most people in the fictional state of Oceania fanatically adhere to Big Brother’s beliefs due to their strict censorship and the twisted meaning of words. Furthermore, Big Brother creates the Thought Police, sets up monitors, and orchestrates the country’s Two Minutes of Hate to ensure that people’s thoughts are in tempo with the all-powerful government. These ways also help Big Brother perpetuate this consumptive dictatorship.  Also, to eliminate all objectors, the party builds the Ministry of Love to “purify” these people’s “dirty” souls by force and shoot them if need be. Lastly, to secure the people’s ignorance, inner party members change all the recorded information to control the past. Essentially, George Orwell details these inhuman actions to expose the cruelty and absurdness of a totalitarian society. In addition, the author utilizes these settings to create a ridiculous world where the fool is the sage, and the sage is the fool. More desperate, the thoroughness of the system makes the sage sees no light in revolt but merely the infinite darkness surrounding him.

As the story progresses, doubting the ideas of Big Brother, Winston struggles to find out the truth of the world. Throughout his endeavors, he writes in a diary, investigates the past, and even falls in love with Julia, a strident girl who also challenges Big Brother’s oppression. Risking his life, Winston writes: “Down Big Brother!” This blatant phrase displays Winston’s strong opposition towards Big Brother, but he begins to favor Goldstein and Brotherhood, which disdains totalitarianism. Basically, Orwell utilizes Winston’s determination to allude to all people in Europe and their own hostility towards the inequality in totalitarian society, and their approval of democracy. Even though Winston discreetly researches the truth of the past, the Thought Police had already fixed on him seven years prior. Keeping Winston in the dark, the Thought Police provides him mixed information, including a photo of three former revolutionists. This evidence leads Winston to further research; meanwhile, it provides enough reasons for the Thought Police to capture him. Sadly, Winston’s arrest indicates the end of the revolt. By the end of the story with failure instead of success, Orwell plainly expresses the fragility of a single man’s power and the desperation of a totalitarian society, which simply removes the last hope for humanity. Even love, the greatest human emotion, is betrayed by Winston himself under the attack of the mice, which symbolizes the fear of humanity. All over again, the author reminds the audience of the stifling atmosphere of such a society; furthermore, it forces the audience to face the ugliness and tyranny under the name of general will.

At the end of the novel 1984, Winston is shot with the love for Big Brother. In this ending, Orwell persuades the audience that nothing, even secrets hidden in the very last corner of the heart, can escape under the eyes of a totalitarian leader; no matter how hard people attempt to hide them, they will be removed by the tyrant by fair means or foul.